Megawati's defiant democrats Shoiisneir
ON SATURDAY JULY 28™ COMMANDOS DISGUISED AS supporters of the pro-Suharto faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) entered the national headquarters of the PDI to oust anti-Suharto PDI members. The dictatorship had ordered those occupying the neadquarters to stop using it as a place for "democratic open forums" and to leave it to allov the officially recognised PDI leadership, of Mr Soeryadi, to take over. The dictatorship has organised a fake congress of the PDI without going through the formal democratic channels of the PDi, buying, forcing and arbitrarily choosing so called local delegates. The fake congress elected Soeryadi as a new chairperson, supposedly replacing Megawati Sukarnoputri, the legitimate elected leader of the PDI.
According to ASIET'S sources in Jakarta, at least
47 people were shot and knifed to death during the attack on pro-Megawati PDI supporters. Liberal
Moslem leader, Abdurrahman Wahid, has told the media that about 100 people were killed during the attack on the PDI office. 200 were arrested. Spokespersons for Megawati have stated that there 158 of her supporters who are still missing.
Almost 10,000 PDI members later rallied to protest the attack on their headquarters. The rally was also dispersed violently by steel baton wielding military causing scores of injuries. As news of the attack on the PDI headquarters and on the rally spread, tens of thousands of young people descended onto the streets venting their anger against anything that symbolised the greed and wealth of Indonesia's current rulers. Several banks, the Ministry of Agriculture, and motor vehicle showrooms were smashed and burnt.
The PDI was formed in the 1970s when the dictatorship forced a number of non-Moslem political parties to fuse together into the PDI. Moslem parties were forced to fuse into the United Development Party (PPP). The forced fusion was aimed at eliminating the specific identity of the parties, some of which had deep roots in different parts of Indonesian society. The largest of the parties forced to fuse into the PDI was the PNI. Although the PNI had been purged of many of its more radical leaders, many of whom had been executed in 1065 remained a large party with many supporters in small town and village Indonesia, especially in Java. Sumatra and Bali.
The other reason why the PDI has developed its radical image is the persistent struggle its membership nas waged over the last three years against the dictatorship's interference in its internal life, especially over the issue of the chairpersonship of Megawati Sukarnoputri. Ever since she first came forward as a potential PDI head, the dictatorship has attempted to keep her out. It was necessary for the PDI to conduct extraordinary congresses to overcome the regime's interference. The Megawati PDI leadership is the first political leadership operating inside the dictatorship's formal political system that has persistently defied the dictatorship. This fact, combined with the reputation of Megawat's father, former President Sukarno, for being completely uncorrupted and a friend of the "lite people", has transformed Megawati into a symbol of defiance and the desire for democracy.
As long as Megawati remains defiant against the attacks of the dictatorship, her popularity will continue to grow. Mass discontent with the Suharto dictatorship has always been high but has been deepening in recent years. The gap between rich and poor has been highlighted by the emergence of between 20-30 hugely wealthy families in control of gigantic business corporations which have become
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alkal shot %-336 referred to in Indonesian society as "konglomerat" The biggest of these belong to Suharto's children and close personal and political associates. At the same time, members of Indonesia's rapidly expanding and extremely young working class earn only $2-$3 per day, often in very dangerous workplaces. Peasants face higher and higher taxes and other administrative charges. Any acts of protest by workers or peasants against low wages or corruption have been met by military repression.
The Armed Forces have attacked the PDI for being the Trojan Horse inside of which can be found the radical PRD. However, this attack has not drawn any support except from the dictatorship's own front organisations and extreme conservative Islamic groups. Liberal Moslem leader, Abdurrahman Wahid, has rejected the military's claim that the rioting on July 27 was caused by a "communist plot" and has asserted that the Indonesian people will not believe the regime. A range of academics and other commentators have criticised the attack on the PRD, either saying that they are not communist but radical left or not even left but radical or rejecting the whole process of communist fear mongering.
The publication, MONAS, also broadcast on the Internet, has also quoted an unnamed SMID activist commenting on statements by Megawati Sukarnoputri, the popular chairperson of the PDI, no longer recognised as such by the dictatorship. Interrogators have been trying to link her to the Budiman case". PRD leader Budiman Sudjatmiko had been a regular speaker at the Democratic Free Forums being held at the PDI office.
Megawati told interrogators that she did not know Budiman. According to MONAS, the SMID spokesperson also said that SMID "did not know Megawati." According to SMID she had not outlined her vision for the future while she was in parliament and had rarely spoken out. Asked why SMID members supported Megawati, the SMID activist answered: "That is part of our commitment to democracy. We saw that the action by the military against PDI, led as it was by Megawati, was not something that we could keep silent about. Our support for Megawati's PDI is a part of our overall response to abuse of power by the military, such as in the case of the Ujung Padang, Priok and Lampung [massacres], East Timor struggle and many others."
If Megawati, her PDI, Abdurrahman Wahid, the liberal Moslem community maintain their different forms of defiance and act in solidarity, the precedent of sustained defiance will provide the basis of a true mass democratic movement.*